ASUS today unveiled the X99-E 10G WS workstation motherboard. Although based on the X99 Express chipset, this board supports Intel Xeon E5-1600 and E5-2600 (v3 and v4) processors, besides Core i7 "Haswell-E" and "Broadwell-E" processors in the LGA2011v3 package. The board's eight DDR4 DIMM slots support up to 128 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. The board is built in the SSI-CEB form-factor (305 mm x 267 mm). The board features seven PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, and uses PLX PEX-8747 x48 bridge chips to provide either two x16 slots with direct wiring to the CPU, or four x16 slots running at full x16 bandwidth, or seven x16 slots in x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 configuration.

Storage connectivity includes one 32 Gb/s U.2 port, a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, and a total of ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board derives its name from support for 10 Gbps Ethernet, and features a pair of 10 Gbps connections driven by an Intel X550-AT2 controller. Other modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports (of which one is type-C), eight USB 3.0 ports, and 8-channel HD audio with a 115 dBA SNR CODEC. The board draws power from a 24-pin ATX, a 6-pin PCIe, and two 8-pin EPS connectors, and uses an 8-phase VRM to condition power for the CPU. ASUS didn't reveal pricing.

Intel is opening up its silicon manufacturing facilities to fabless chip-makers, beginning with the manufacture of ARM SoCs. The company entered a licensing deal with ARM that allows ARM SoC designers such as Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung, to manufacture their SoCs at Intel fabs. Intel is among the first fabs with a working 14 nm node, and is on-track for sub-10 nm node development.

Intel had a crack at the market segments typically addressed by ARM SoCs, with its own x86 chips, which failed to see the kind of volumes ARM chipmakers were pushing. The company has now changed tactics to open its fabs up to those ARM SoC makers, letting them manufacture their designs on proven silicon-fabrication tech, in geographically important locations. Intel has its cutting-edge fabs located in Costa Rica and Malaysia.

TechPowerUp announces the latest version of GPU-Z, the graphics sub-system information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility that no power-user can leave home without. Version 1.10.0 introduces support for new GPUs, including AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 460; NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, and 3 GB GTX 1060; and Intel Iris 550. GPU-Z can now correctly extract BIOS from AMD "Polaris" GPUs. Power-draw monitoring on "Polaris" GPUs has been improved, and a general shader count issue in ULPS mode has been fixed.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 1.10.0 | GPU-Z 1.10.0 ASUS ROG Themed

The change-log follows.

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation NUC (next unit of computing) compact desktops between 2016-17. A leaked company roadmap and slides revealed that the line of NUCs based on the company's higher-performance 7th generation Core processors could be codenamed "Baby Canyon," and the one based on its low-power Celeron processors could be codenamed "Arches Canyon." The company is readying five "Baby Canyon" NUCs under the NUC7 series, and two models under the NUC6C series.

The NUC7 series are driven by 14 nm Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 "Kaby Lake" dual-core processors, with support for dual-channel DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, and a unique USB type-C connector that routes 10 Gb/s USB 3.1, 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, and DisplayPort 1.2. The platform's second USB 3.1 port is a front-facing type-A. The NUC6C series, on the other hand, is focused on legacy connectivity, and features an analog VGA port, besides HDMI 2.0, and a pair of USB 3.1 ports. The NUC6C series could make its debut within 2016, with the NUC7 following up in 2017.

Futuremark released the latest addition to the 3DMark benchmark suite, the new "Time Spy" benchmark and stress-test. All existing 3DMark Basic and Advanced users have limited access to "Time Spy," existing 3DMark Advanced users have the option of unlocking the full feature-set of "Time Spy" with an upgrade key that's priced at US $9.99. The price of 3DMark Advanced for new users has been revised from its existing $24.99 to $29.99, as new 3DMark Advanced purchases include the fully-unlocked "Time Spy." Futuremark announced limited-period offers that last up till 23rd July, in which the "Time Spy" upgrade key for existing 3DMark Advanced users can be had for $4.99, and the 3DMark Advanced Edition (minus "Time Spy") for $9.99.

Futuremark 3DMark "Time Spy" has been developed with inputs from AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Microsoft, and takes advantage of the new DirectX 12 API. For this reason, the test requires Windows 10. The test almost exponentially increases the 3D processing load over "Fire Strike," by leveraging the low-overhead API features of DirectX 12, to present a graphically intense 3D test-scene that can make any gaming/enthusiast PC of today break a sweat. It can also make use of several beyond-4K display resolutions.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark with TimeSpy v2.1.2852

Futuremark teased its first benchmark for DirectX 12 graphics, the 3DMark "Time Spy." Likely marketed as an add-on to the 3DMark (2013) suite, "Time Spy" tests DirectX 12 features in a silicon-scorching 3D scene that's rich in geometric, textural, and visual detail. The benchmark is also ready for new generation displays including high resolutions beyond 4K Ultra HD. Existing users of 3DMark get "Basic" access to "Time Spy" when it comes out, with the option to purchase its "Advanced" and "Professional" modes.

Under the hood, "Time Spy" takes advantage of Direct3D feature-level 12_0, including Asynchronous Compute, heavily multi-threaded CPUs (which can make use of as many CPU cores as you can throw at it), and DirectX explicit multi-adapter (native multi-GPU, including mixed setups). Futuremark stated that the benchmark was developed with inputs from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and other partners of the Futuremark Benchmark Development Program.A teaser trailer video follows.

Thecus today announced the release of the N2810PRO, an upgraded version of the N2810 that will come equipped with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and the new Intel Celeron N3160 quad-core processor, allowing users to get improved speed and processing power. This high-performance 2-bay NAS server fulfills the demand for home and small office users who are eager for impregnable protection of their data, while enjoying enhanced Multimedia Playback with 4K video resolution.

Providing the ideal environment for immersive multimedia entertainment, the N2810PRO debuts a new arsenal of output alternatives to fulfill user's visual and audio desires. This NAS delivers superbly detailed images, with spectacular colour contrasts in 4K resolution playback, accessed through the HDMI output or the newly added DisplayPort output. To further cater to your multimedia setup, the option exists of connecting the audio via a SPDIF output to provide expansive sound through your sound system.

Intel's first client SSDs based on the company's revolutionary 3D XPoint memory technology, under the company's new Optane brand, could debut alongside the company's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors (late-2016), according to a leaked company slide. According to the slide, the company could launch at least three Optane branded SSD lines in either late Q4-2016 or Q1-2017, addressing three distinct market segments.

Leading the pack is the Optane "Mansion Beach" SSD, positioned in the upper-end of the "Enthusiast Workstation" segment, with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 interface, and NVMe support. A notch underneath this is the Optane "Brighton Beach" series, featuring PCIe gen 3.0 x2 interface. Interestingly, Intel doesn't have a mainstream SSD based on the 3D XPoint tech around this time, yet has an entry-level "System Accelerator" segment drive codenamed "Stony Beach," which also takes advantage of PCIe gen 3.0 x2. This drive comes in M.2 form-factor. Some time later (2018?), the company plans to launch a single-chip successor to "Stony Beach," codenamed "Carson Beach."

Dramatic growth in the volume and variety of data is bringing unprecedented opportunities for businesses - healthcare to transportation, banking to manufacturing - to make new discoveries and to deliver improved services and customer experiences. The key opportunity is turning the massive amount of core business data plus new sources of unstructured data into actionable and timely insights. In fact, research is finding that companies that use data-driven insights are two times more likely to have top quartile financial performance and five times more likely to make decisions faster than their competition, so it is no surprise that many companies are investing in analytics.

The Intel Xeon processor E7-8800/4800 v4 families offer robust performance, the industry's largest memory capacity per socket 2, advanced reliability and hardware enhanced security for real-time analytics so that businesses can rapidly gain actionable insights from massive and complex data sets. They are optimal for scale-up platforms, delivering large in-memory computing for real-time analytics as well as data-intensive workloads such as online transaction processing (OLTP), supply chain management (SCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), among others. The Intel Xeon processor E7 v4 family delivers up to 1.4 times higher performance, up to 10 times better performance for dollar and half the system power compared to IBM Power8-based solutions.

This could very well be the first picture of a socket LGA1151 motherboard based on Intel's upcoming 200-series chipset, which succeeds the 100-series. Named the Z2T0-Anniversary (is that a typo for Z270-Anniversary?), the board is likely based on the chipset that succeeds the Z170-Express (Z270-Express?), and will be timed with Intel's launch of the 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors. MSI did not finalize the board's aesthetics (heatsink design, PCB markings), but the development board seems pretty loaded with features, that rival the current Z170A-Gaming M7 (we know this from the 6-layer PCB markings). MSI says that the board will be launched in November, 2016.

In addition to the Z170-Designare and the X99-Designare, GIGABYTE unveiled the more value-oriented H170-Designare, establishing a common feature-set that constitutes the "Designare" branding. To begin with, the H170-Designare covers all the basics, with a 6-phase CPU VRM, reinforced DDR4 DIMM slots, reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (one runs at full-time x16, and one runs at x4), with four additional PCIe 3.0 x1 slots.

Things get interesting with the connectivity that's on offer. The board features two 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 ports driven by an Intel-made controller (one each of type-A and type-C), with 100W power delivery. The board also features an Intel I219-V gigabit Ethernet controller with cFosSpeed support. The most striking features are with its storage connectivity. You get a 32 Gb/s U.2 port, a 32 Gb/s M.2 port, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 slot, all of which feature NVMe booting support; with BIOS-level support for 3-drive RAID 0 arrays using three Intel SSD 750 drives.

MSI is proud to announce the latest X99 Performance GAMING motherboard, the X99A GAMING PRO CARBON, world's first motherboard offering front USB 3.1 Type-C. This new motherboard has been built from the ground up and has a completely new design for its heavy plated heatsinks and covers, based on the latest CARBON look & feel. Besides this totally new design, the X99A GAMING PRO CARBON motherboard also comes packed with several new and unique MSI features such as new Mystic Light with smartphone control over WIFI including a Mystic Light extension RGB cable and pin header.

Onboard Turbo U.2 is present to support the latest and greatest SSDs available in the market supporting NVMe. DDR4 Boost is accompanied by DDR4 Steel Armor to ensure the best memory performance. The X99A GAMING PRO CARBON is the first X99 model featuring Game Boost with 8 gears up to 5 GHz of one-second-overlocking! Last but not least, this model has been designed and optimized for next-generation Intel "Broadwell-E(P)" processors. So whether looking for extreme performance or endless customization, the new X99A GAMING PRO CARBON is sure to deliver.

Intel introduced a trio of embedded CPUs for SFF desktops and industrial PCs (IPCs), based on its "Skylake-R" silicon. This variant of Skylake features the largest integrated GPU Intel ever made - the Intel Iris Pro 580. This IGP features 72 execution units (compared to 24 on, say, the i7-6700K), and relies on a 128 MB eDRAM L4 cache for fast frame-buffering operations. The IGP uses this tiny yet fast cache, in conjunction with its traditional UMA system memory share, as video memory. The "Skylake-R" package is a multi-chip module of the main die with four "Skylake" CPU cores and the 72-EU IGP, and a second die housing the L4 cache.

Among the three "Skylake-R" chips Intel launched are the Core i7-6785R, the Core i5-6685R, and the Core i5-6585R. The i7-6785R features HyperThreading enabling 8 logical CPUs, 8 MB of L3 cache, and 3.30 GHz nominal clock speed, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost. The i5-6685R and the Core i5-6585R lack HyperThreading, and feature just 6 MB of L3 cache; the former features clock speeds of 3.20 GHz nominal with 3.80 GHz Turbo Boost, while the latter offers 2.80 GHz nominal with 3.60 GHz Turbo Boost. All three feature iGPU clocks of 350 MHz nominal, with up to 1150 MHz boost. The 14 nm chips further feature TDP of 65W, and feature dual-channel memory controllers that support both DDR4 and DDR3L memory. Sold in the OEM channel, the i7-6785R, i5-6685R, and i5-6585R, are priced at US $370, $288, and $255, respectively, per-piece, and in 1000-unit tray quantities.

It looks like Intel's 7th generation performance desktop processor, the Core i7-7700K, will be a quad-core part, like the seven generations before it. Leaked SiSoft SANDRA benchmark leaderboards reveal interesting details about the chip. To begin with, this quad-core part will feature HyperThreading enabling 8 logical CPUs for the OS to deal with. It will be clocked at 3.60 GHz, with a TurboBoost frequency of 4.20 GHz. Compare this, to the 4.00 GHz nominal and 4.20 GHz TurboBoost clocks of the current-generation i7-6700K. Bear in mind that this is a pre-release engineering-sample, and may not be accurate for the production chips.

The IMC of the i7-7700K will be clocked at 4.00 GHz, and its integrated graphics core will feature 24 execution units, much like "Skylake-D." The cache setup is unchanged, too, with 256 KB per-core L2, and 8 MB shared L3 caches. The "Kaby Lake" silicon will be built on Intel's 14 nm node, and is rumored to be slightly more energy-efficient than "Skylake." It will be built in the LGA1151 package, and will be compatible with current Intel 100-series and future 200-series chipset motherboard. "Kaby Lake" is the third mainline CPU architecture by Intel on the 14 nm node (after "Broadwell" and "Skylake"). The first 7th generation Core processors could launch later this year.

Intel Corporation today announced a restructuring initiative to accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices. Intel will intensify its focus in high-growth areas where it is positioned for long-term leadership, customer value and growth, while making the company more efficient and profitable.

The data center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses are Intel's primary growth engines, with memory and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) accelerating these opportunities - fueling a virtuous cycle of growth for the company. These growth businesses delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, and made up 40 percent of revenue and the majority of operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment.

Intel Corporation today reported first-quarter GAAP revenue of $13.7 billion, operating income of $2.6 billion, net income of $2.0 billion and EPS of 42 cents. Intel reported non-GAAP revenue of $13.8 billion, operating income of $3.3 billion, net income of $2.6 billion and EPS of 54 cents. The company generated approximately $4.0 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.2 billion, and used $793 million to repurchase 27 million shares of stock.

"Our first-quarter results tell the story of Intel's ongoing strategic transformation, which is progressing well and will accelerate in 2016," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "We are evolving from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices."

Intel unveiled the SSD 5 series (SSD 540s) of mainstream solid-state drives. The SSD 5 Series is part of Intel's new nomenclature for its consumer SSD lineup. The SSD 7 Series leads the pack with the highest performance, leveraging exotic interfaces such as M.2 PCIe, U.2, or PCIe add-on card, and NVMe protocol; the SSD 5 Pro series retains conventional 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s and M.2 SATA interfaces, but with the fastest MLC NAND flash memory. The SSD 5 series, however, offers TLC NAND flash memory, and is designed to be cost-effective.

The SSD 5 series comes in capacities of 180 GB, 240 GB, 360 GB, 480 GB, and 1 TB, and in two form-factors - 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch, and 80 mm M.2 with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Transfer rates vary by model, but you're looking at read speeds of up to 560 MB/s, with write speeds of up to 480 MB/s. The SSD 5 Series is perhaps the only TLC NAND flash SSD in the market to ship with a 5-year warranty.

MSI, world leading in motherboards and most popular brand in the X99 motherboards market is pleased to announce that all current MSI X99 motherboards fully support the next generation LGA 2011-3 socket processors, also known as 'Broadwell-E'. BIOS updates are now made available for download via the official MSI website.

With these BIOS updates users can benefit from better performance and compatibility using the latest Intel extreme edition processors with more processor cores and higher frequencies. Highly acclaimed, MSI continues to push for outstanding performance, a unique and attractive look & feel and solid reliability for its X99 motherboards.

Intel over the weekend, leaked its upcoming Core i7-6950X processor in the change-log of its latest Management Engine software, on the company's Support website. In its CPU support list, the entry for "Intel Core i7-6950X Processor Extreme Edition" stands out. It also leaks two key specifications - 25 MB of L3 cache, and a clock speed of up to 3.50 GHz. The Core i7-6800 and i7-6900 series are a family of six-, eight-, and ten-core processors based on the 14 nm "Broadwell-E" silicon, and built in the LGA2011v3 package, compatible with existing Intel X99 Express chipset motherboards, with BIOS updates.

It's being speculated that the i7-6950X will be the first client-platform CPU with 10 cores. Intel could position this product at a new price-point that's above even the $999 it traditionally reserved for its high-end client chips. At $999, the company could offer an 8-core Core i7-6900K; followed by 6-core Core i7-6850K and i7-6800K at the traditional $600 and $400 price points, respectively. Intel could launch these chips some time within Q2-2016.

Intel Corporation today announced a range of new technologies, investments and industry collaborations aimed at making it easier to deploy agile and scalable clouds so businesses can deliver new services faster and drive revenue growth. Businesses want flexibility and choice in cloud deployment models to support innovation while maintaining control of their most strategic assets. Despite a willingness to invest in modern software-defined infrastructure (SDI), businesses find the prospect of doing so themselves to be complex and time-consuming.

Intel is easing the path with new processors, solid state drives and a range of industry collaborations to help businesses deliver new services at the scale and speed previously found only in the most advanced public clouds. "Enterprises want to benefit from the efficiency and agility of cloud architecture and on their own terms - using the public cloud offerings, deploying their own private cloud, or both," said Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Data Center Group. "The result is pent-up demand for software-defined infrastructure. Intel is investing to mature SDI solutions and provide a faster path for businesses of all sizes to reap the benefits of the cloud."

Dell today announced new Virtual Reality-ready solutions that feature refined criteria for optimal VR experience, whether consuming or creating VR content. Dell has defined VR-ready solutions by three criteria:

• Minimum CPU, memory, and graphics requirements to support optimal VR viewing experiences;
• Graphics drivers that are qualified to work reliably with these solutions; and,
• Passing performance tests conducted by Dell using test criteria based on HMD (head-mounted display) suppliers, ISVs or 3rd party benchmarks where available.

Working closely with its hardware and software partners, Dell is formalizing its commitment to the future of VR by delivering solutions that are optimized for VR consumption and creation alongside ISV applications for professional customers.

IBASE Technology Inc. (TPEx: 8050), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial motherboards is releasing a new mini ITX motherboard, MI991, with a Socket H4 (LGA1151) socket and the Intel C236 chipset. System integrators can benefit from the MI991 equipped with space-saving compact configuration and rich I/O design for maximum flexibility.

IBASE MI991 supports up to three independent displays via Intel HD Graphics: DVI-D, HDMI, and DisplayPort, as well as DDR4 32GB limitation on two memory slots. It uses the more expensive Intel i211 controller instead of Realtek controllers for the motherboard alongside the Intel chipset i219 NIC device. Friendly features also include eight USB, four serial ports, four SATA III as well as two Mini PCI-E, an mSATA and a PCI-E(16x) expansion slot.

According to a leaked company slide doing rounds on the web, Intel plans to launch its workstation-grade Xeon "Broadwell-EP" processors by March 31, 2016. These chips will be branded under the Xeon E5-2600 V4 series. HP is ready with a workstation based on these chips, the HP Z640, which succeeds the Z620 that's driven by "Haswell-EP" Xeon chips. Dollar-for-Dollar, Intel is positioning the "Broadwell-EP" to offer at least "20% more cores and last-level cache" than "Haswell-EP."

This would mean Intel leveraging the 14 nm process to cram 10-core chips at the price of an 8-core chip from the previous generation, 8-core chips at the price of 6-core ones, and so on. The same slide mentions that "Broadwell-EP" offers, on average, 18% more performance than "Haswell-EP." Intel is also hinting at native support for DDR4-2400 MHz. Haswell-EP supports DDR4-2133 MHz.

Intel announced its first "gaming grade" NUC. As if the very concept of NUC wasn't disruptive to the small form-factor desktop segment enough, the company is upping the ante with one that's prepped for gaming. Codenamed NUC6i7KYK, the new Skull Canyon NUC is about double the size of the average NUC. It has sufficient muscle for sub-1080p gaming, but is also prepped for external graphics solutions, such as the Razer Core.

To begin with, the Skull Canyon is driven by a Core i7-6770HQ processor based on the "Skylake" architecture. This quad-core chip features HyperThreading, which enables 8 logical CPUs, 6 MB of L3 cache, 128 MB L4 cache, and Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580. The CPU cores run at speeds between 2.60 GHz and 3.50 GHz, while the iGPU ticks at 950 MHz. With 576 execution units, 72 TMUs, and 9 ROPs, the integrated graphics core is good enough for gaming at sub-1080p resolutions such as 720p and 900p.

AMD today announced AMD XConnect technology, making it easier than ever to pair a powerful external Radeon graphics card with a compatible notebook or 2-in-1 using Thunderbolt 3. AMD XConnect technology is a groundbreaking new feature of Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.3. Traditionally, PC gamers have been faced with the problem of choosing between gaming notebooks, sacrificing portability for gaming performance, or ultrathin notebooks, sacrificing gaming performance for portability.

A lightweight notebook or 2-in-1 with Thunderbolt 3 that is compatible with AMD XConnect technology brings the best of both worlds to life -- conveniently lightweight on its own, but as needed, can easily tap into serious framerates and image quality of a gaming notebook with a powerful external GPU. The connection between the external GPU enclosure configured with Radeon R9 300 Series graphics is made possible over Intel's Thunderbolt 3, and can be connected or disconnected at any time, a first for external GPUs.